My experience as a Platinum CC cruiser...

[lornak]

My family just got off the Magic yesterday. We had a great cruise and I must say that I personally LOVE the new Castaway Club tiers. I am at the platinum level and I was searching the boards during the 10/3 cruise for any info on what they would be offering. I couldn't find anything so I'm hoping this information helps someone out there!!! Here are the "perks" and my thoughts on them...

Check In/Boarding
We arrived early at the port and were given a #2 check in card. I was glad as I wasn't sure how they were going to handle my family. I am the only platnium level in my family and since we have 4 children we always have to get 2 staterooms. My husband and 2 of my children are at the gold level and my other 2 children are silver level.

All CC members still used the same check in line...there wasn't a separate line for anyone except concierge. At check in the CM helping me was able to pull up everyone's CC info. It was strange that 2 of my kids showed up as first time cruisers??? I told her this was not right and she either took my word for it or was able to access their CC info. At any rate she eventually had all the CC info correct and told me what level each family member was. When we were all checked in she went to go get us lanyards. Each family member had their correct colored lanyard---the silver lanyards are silver (!), the gold lanyards are bright yellow/gold and the platinum lanyards are black with sivler writing. The couple next to me was getting their lanyards at the same time and they asked for another lanyard for whoever else was in their stateroom. They said that only CC members would get lanyards---even if sailing in the same stateroom. I know in the past I have gotten CC lanyards for everyone in my stateroom, even if they were first time sailers---but no more I guess. Our KTTW cards still had goofy on them but right on the bottom of each card it said SILVER, GOLD or PLATINUM member. It also had our CC number on it.

The CM didn't mention anything about boarding with group #1 so I asked. She said that I was the only one who would be allowed to board with group #1....not even the other two in my stateroom??? I thought this was really strange so I went over to the Platinum/Concierge area (just a side note---the sign for the Concierge "special seating" area now says Concierge and Platnium CC members). Anyway, I spoke to the gentleman greeting at that area and told him about my family. Interestingly he told me that I would be the only one allowed to wait in the reserved area. I said I didn't want to sit without my family so we would stay in the general area. He then told me to come back with my family around boarding time and he would let us board with group #1. That was all I cared about! So, as we saw the concierge/platinum guests getting ready to board we walked over to that area. We waited for all the other guests to board and then we were let through. It was great! I don't know if this would be allowed in the future as they were somewhat particular about only letting platnium guests through. But it was allowed for the 6 of us and we certainly appreciated it!!


Stateroom gift
I was anxious to see what the stateroom gift would be. When we arrived we found the red/black tote, waterbottles and rice krispie treats that have been talked about on another thread. The bag and water bottles are both a step up from the ones in the past in my opinion. Also in the bag was a gold, DCL steering wheel key chain.

Now, since we had two staterooms I was trying to figure out what gift was for each level. My stateroom was platinum and my husband's stateroom was gold. We both got exactly the same gift in our rooms so I wasn't sure if the "extra" platinum gift really existed?? But at turndown on the first night each stateoom had additional gifts. The first was a small, red box of truffles with DCL CC printed on it. The second was a shrink wrapped bag tied with a red DCL ribbon. Inside was a long DCL lanyard type thing---honestly, I'm not sure what it is!!! I THINK it is a strap to put around your suitcase? Otherwise it is the biggest lanyard ever!! The second gift was a very nice, leather document holder. It has a zipper around the edge and has spaces for ID, credit cards, passports, etc, in the inside. I really liked this!!

Additional benefits
Both staterooms had gotten the identical gifts so far so I still wasn't sure what was going on. But then I had a letter delivered to my stateroom and addressed to Platinum guests. On the letter was listed additional Platinum benefits. They included:

A special delivery from room service. We could choose a fruit basket, a cheese tray, shrimp cocktail or sparkling wine to be delivered to our stateroom at the time of our choosing. Someone from the room service team would call in the morning for our choice.

We had our choice of two platinum exclusive tours. The first was a behind the scences theatre tour on Thursday at 1:00 OR a behind the scenes animal care tour at CC at 3:00 on Friday. Guest services called on Sunday morning to see which we wanted. We chose the theatre tour. I wasn't sure how they were going to handle our two staterooms but when the tickets were delivered they only delivered three (there were three passengers in my stateroom). Only a few of us wanted to go on the tour so I didn't even try to get all 6 of us on the tour. I'm not sure if they would have allowed it.

The tour itself was really fun. There were only 20 of us there. The "tour" was led by the stage director and the head theatre technician. They started by talking about their jobs, the theatre in general, the actors and casting procedures, etc. They took any questions as we went along. After that we were able to go on stage and look at many of the props. They opened up the back storage area and we could see the sets for just about everything. They also showed us how screens and backdrops were lowered, turned on the smoke/fog effect and lit up the pixie dust effect. We were also able to see a bunch of costumes. The best one was Cinderella's wedding dress. We were able to hold that dress on the hanger to see how heavy it is! It weighs almost 15 pounds!!! It is gorgeous and all hand beaded. Very fun...! They also had special costumes that had been made just for the tour. They were a male and female costume from the black and white ball from Twice Charmed. These costumes were copies of the originals but with the backs cut out (just ties). Anyone who wanted to was able to try these on. My daughter tried it on and love it! We were allowed to take pictures but no flash was allowed---so the pics didn't turn out that well. No video was allowed. Probably the best part of the tour was that we were able to ride down to below the stage area on the main lift! It was really fun and very interesting to see below the stage. There is so much that goes into each of these shows. It was all very impressive and we were glad we went!!!

For every $100 of merchandise purchased in the ship stores, a $25 shipboard credit was added to our stateroom bill. The $100 had to be spent in one transaction. I spent $100.80 on Monday to see how it would work. The CM in the store knew all about the program and told me that each night, the receipts were delivered to Guest Services and the $25 credit showed up the next day. She also told me that we could do this as many times as we wanted to during the cruise! I thought it was a one time thing but apparently you can do it every time you spend $100 in one stop. We just organized our shopping to take advantage of this when we could. On a side note---the store had a list of all the Platnium cabins and she double checked to make sure we were on it. There were probably only 10-12 staterooms on the list. I thought that was interesting---not that many platinum cabins on this sailing. I wonder if that will be a normal percentage???

There was a CC reception scheduled for Monday at 11:00 AM. We had Palo brunch at 10:00 AM that day so we had to miss it. I was very disappointed to miss it but I wasn't going to give up brunch!

Finally, the letter said that we could have one complimentary dinner in Palo. But the leter also said it was only for people in MY stateroom. I went to guest services to inquire about my husband's dinner. The gal I spoke with totally understood that we were "required" to put one adult in each stateroom when booking our family and she said that she was sure that his dinner would be complimentary as well. However, she called her supervisor to be sure as we were the first people to ask this. The supervisor said NO, only my dinner would be free. However, the GS CM I was speaking to told me she wanted to talk to someone else in charge of the program as she was sure that she had heard another answer while being briefed on the new program! She tracked down someone "on shore" as she said and called me two days later to say both of our meals would be complimentary. I honestly cannot say if this is the policy or if this is something they did because I asked. Now, when we actually went to Palo I felt that our server looked at my key card (which said PLATINUM) right on it and comped us both our meals. I could be wrong---maybe we were on a list somewhere. But it felt like that was the way it happend. Either way, when we got our "bill" at Palo the only thing on it was my glass of wine.

Oh---as far as the letter, our gold stateroom got one as well. But the only two benefits the gold level had listed was the $25 store credit and the CC reception.

Ok! I didn't mean for this to get so long! But this is the information I would have liked so I'm hoping someone else likes it as well!! As I said earlier, I really liked all the new benefits. I definitely felt pampered and appreciated as a return cruiser. I felt that the staff knew what the Platnium lanyards meant and I had many CMs ask me how many cruises I had been on, thanked me for returning, etc... These are only my opinions but I thought it was all very nice!!! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!!

[*Flower*]

Thanks so much for posting!

I'll be taking my first cruise at the end of November, but this gives me something to work toward (hopefully- if the first one passes the test).

[kcashner]

I'm delighted that it's long and detailed....thank you!

As to there being about 12 Platinum cabins on the ship, I think this is probably about typical. We've been told that about 1-1.5% of CCs are platinum, but logically Platinums cruise more often than most people. 12 cabins would be abou 1.5% of the cabins on the ship, so it looks like you're in the right ballpark.

[DisneyDiva4ever]

lornak, your report was great! Thanks for taking the time to post all of this info.

I am a platinum member and I'm cruising on the 24th so it's time to plan every detail! I'm wondering if you can tell me if you liked the tour of the WD Theatre? How long was the tour? Did you feel it was worth the time out of your day at sea? Is it something that you learned a lot / felt was a special experience vs. the typical q/a theatre session that is normally held in the WD Theatre for all guests?

Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Subi WRX]

I am sure that once the new ships come out and with Alaska in 2011 and who knows what other itineraries, it won't be long before there are a lot more platinum cruisers, JMHO.

Personally, I am glad that they are restricting priority boarding and the special waiting area to only platinum members and not their family members as well. That special waiting area is not very big, and if 10 platinum people each bring 2-3 family members, that is a lot.

Thanks for posting.

[Zippercat]

"I felt that the staff knew what the Platnium lanyards meant and I had many CMs ask me how many cruises I had been on, thanked me for returning, etc... These are only my opinions but I thought it was all very nice!!! "

SOOOOO, how many cruises have you been on?

[lornak]

I editted my post to include information about the theatre tour---sorry I forgot about that! But overall I thought it was very worth it! I had done the theatre tour in the past when they offered it as part of the enrichment series and this was different. With the addition of the costumes and riding the lift I thought it was better than before. Plus, the group was small and that made it very easy to ask questions. We really enjoyed it and would do it again if offered.

I agree that the concierge waiting area is small and it wouldn't work well to have a bunch of people trying to get in (like people you are traveling with). But I thought it was strange that not even the people traveling with me in my stateroom were allowed in. My reservation was for one adult and 2 children. Do they really think I am going to go sit in the reserved area and leave my kids in general seating?!?! It really doesn't matter to me at all as I am happy to wait in the main terminal area. But I just thought the policy was odd!!!!

[lornak]

This was number 12 for me...! I feel very fortunate!!

[disney1990]

Originally Posted by lornak

I editted my post to include information about the theatre tour---sorry I forgot about that! But overall I thought it was very worth it! I had done the theatre tour in the past when they offered it as part of the enrichment series and this was different. With the addition of the costumes and riding the lift I thought it was better than before. Plus, the group was small and that made it very easy to ask questions. We really enjoyed it and would do it again if offered.

I agree that the concierge waiting area is small and it wouldn't work well to have a bunch of people trying to get in (like people you are traveling with). But I thought it was strange that not even the people traveling with me in my stateroom were allowed in. My reservation was for one adult and 2 children. Do they really think I am going to go sit in the reserved area and leave my kids in general seating?!?! It really doesn't matter to me at all as I am happy to wait in the main terminal area. But I just thought the policy was odd!!!!

Yes, I too find that policy very strange. Not very family friendly to leave your kids behind.

[jiminyC_fan]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it all.

[cruiseletters]

Thank you for such a nice detailed report. My dh and I have been very curious about what they would actually do.

[LindaBabe]

Thank you for posting such a clear report!

We're Doing back to backs next month. I'm gold for the first one and Platinum for the second

[lbgraves]

Originally Posted by lornak

I agree that the concierge waiting area is small and it wouldn't work well to have a bunch of people trying to get in (like people you are traveling with). But I thought it was strange that not even the people traveling with me in my stateroom were allowed in. My reservation was for one adult and 2 children. Do they really think I am going to go sit in the reserved area and leave my kids in general seating?!?! It really doesn't matter to me at all as I am happy to wait in the main terminal area. But I just thought the policy was odd!!!!

That doesn't go with what DCL has said that all of the guests in the room will have the benefits of the highest CC guest extended to them. It sounds like they don't really want platinum members to use that "benefit". What fun is it if one adult can wait there and none of their family members?

[grlzmom]

Originally Posted by lornak

My family just got off the Magic yesterday. We had a great cruise and I must say that I personally LOVE the new Castaway Club tiers. I am at the platnium level and I was searching the boards during the 10/3 cruise for any info on what they would be offering. I couldn't find anything so I'm hoping this information helps someone out there!!! Here are the "perks" and my thoughts on them...

Check In/Boarding
We arrived early at the port and were given a #2 check in card. I was glad as I wasn't sure how they were going to handle my family. I am the only platnium level in my family and since we have 4 children we always have to get 2 staterooms. My husband and 2 of my children are at the gold level and my other 2 children are silver level.

All CC members still used the same check in line...there wasn't a separate line for anyone except concierge. At check in the CM helping me was able to pull up everyone's CC info. It was strange that 2 of my kids showed up as first time cruisers??? I told her this was not right and she either took my word for it or was able to access their CC info. At any rate she eventually had all the CC info correct and told me what level each family member was. When we were all checked in she went to go get us lanyards. Each family member had their correct colored lanyard---the silver lanyards are silver (!), the gold lanyards are bright yellow/gold and the platnium lanyards are black with sivler writing. The couple next to me was getting their lanyards at the same time and they asked for another lanyard for whoever else was in their stateroom. They said that only CC members would get lanyards---even if sailing in the same stateroom. I know in the past I have gotten CC lanyards for everyone in my stateroom, even if they were first time sailers---but no more I guess. Our KTTW cards still had goofy on them but right on the bottom of each card it said SILVER, GOLD or PLATNIUM member. It also had our CC number on it.

The CM didn't mention anything about boarding with group #1 so I asked. She said that I was the only one who would be allowed to board with group #1....not even the other two in my stateroom??? I thought this was really strange so I went over to the Platnium/Concierge area (just a side note---the sign for the Concierge "special seating" area now says Concierge and Platnium CC members). Anyway, I spoke to the gentleman greeting at that area and told him about my family. Interestingly he told me that I would be the only one allowed to wait in the reserved area. I said I didn't want to sit without my family so we would stay in the general area. He then told me to come back with my family around boarding time and he would let us board with group #1. That was all I cared about! So, as we saw the concierge/platnium guests getting ready to board we walked over to that area. We waited for all the other guests to board and then we were let through. It was great! I don't know if this would be allowed in the future as they were somewhat particular about only letting platnium guests through. But it was allowed for the 6 of us and we certainly appreciated it!!


Stateroom gift
I was anxious to see what the stateroom gift would be. When we arrived we found the red/black tote, waterbottles and rice krispie treats that have been talked about on another thread. The bag and water bottles are both a step up from the ones in the past in my opinion. Also in the bag was a gold, DCL steering wheel key chain.

Now, since we had two staterooms I was trying to figure out what gift was for each level. My stateroom was platnium and my husband's stateroom was gold. We both got exactly the same gift in our rooms so I wasn't sure if the "extra" platnium gift really existed?? But at turndown on the first night each stateoom had additional gifts. The first was a small, red box of truffles with DCL CC printed on it. The second was a shrink wrapped bag tied with a red DCL ribbon. Inside was a long DCL lanyard type thing---honestly, I'm not sure what it is!!! I THINK it is a strap to put around your suitcase? Otherwise it is the biggest lanyard ever!! The second gift was a very nice, leather document holder. It has a zipper around the edge and has spaces for ID, credit cards, passports, etc, in the inside. I really liked this!!

Additional benefits
Both staterooms had gotten the identical gifts so far so I still wasn't sure what was going on. But then I had a letter delivered to my stateroom and addressed to Platnium guests. On the letter was listed additional Platnium benefits. They included:

A special delivery from room service. We could choose a fruit basket, a cheese tray, shrimp cocktail or sparkling wine to be delivered to our stateroom at the time of our choosing. Someone from the room service team would call in the morning for our choice.

We had our choice of two platnium exclusive tours. The first was a behind the scences theatre tour on Thursday at 1:00 OR a behind the scenes animal care tour at CC at 3:00 on Friday. Guest services called on Sunday morning to see which we wanted. We chose the theatre tour. I wasn't sure how they were going to handle our two staterooms but when the tickets were delivered they only delivered three (there were three passengers in my stateroom). Only a few of us wanted to go on the tour so I didn't even try to get all 6 of us on the tour. I'm not sure if they would have allowed it.

The tour itself was really fun. There were only 20 of us there. The "tour" was led by the stage director and the head theatre technician. They started by talking about their jobs, the theatre in general, the actors and casting procedures, etc. They took any questions as we went along. After that we were able to go on stage and look at many of the props. They opened up the back storage area and we could see the sets for just about everything. They also showed us how screens and backdrops were lowered, turned on the smoke/fog effect and lit up the pixie dust effect. We were also able to see a bunch of costumes. The best one was Cinderella's wedding dress. We were able to hold that dress on the hanger to see how heavy it is! It weighs almost 15 pounds!!! It is gorgeous and all hand beaded. Very fun...! They also had special costumes that had been made just for the tour. They were a male and female costume from the black and white ball from Twice Charmed. These costumes were copies of the originals but with the backs cut out (just ties). Anyone who wanted to was able to try these on. My daughter tried it on and love it! We were allowed to take pictures but no flash was allowed---so the pics didn't turn out that well. No video was allowed. Probably the best part of the tour was that we were able to ride down to below the stage area on the main lift! It was really fun and very interesting to see below the stage. There is so much that goes into each of these shows. It was all very impressive and we were glad we went!!!


Ok! I didn't mean for this to get so long! But this is the information I would have liked so I'm hoping someone else likes it as well!! As I said earlier, I really liked all the new benefits. I definitely felt pampered and appreciated as a return cruiser. I felt that the staff knew what the Platnium lanyards meant and I had many CMs ask me how many cruises I had been on, thanked me for returning, etc... These are only my opinions but I thought it was all very nice!!! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!!

Hey we were on the platinum theater tour with you guys We were the other family with kids on the tour (four of our girls went on the tour with us).

We loved the theater tour and riding the lift and seeing everything below stage was great. Kids loved trying on the costumes and it was very informative.

Platinum check in was supposed to be at concierge desk at port but as far as we were told there was a mix up and they were delayed in a meeting that morning and basically didn't seem very prepared for the changes. I am thinking this will be better handled on the next cruise

We got a suite so boarded with concierge anyway but concierge waiting area was very crowded that morning and I don't see how they will be able to keep both concierge and platinums in there anyway, not enough space.

There were supposed to be more people on our theater tour (I think he said we were 8 short) and we were told the other tour at Castaway had more people booked on it but I haven't heard it that was true or not or how many Platinums total were on board.

We also liked the format for the Castaway Repeat Cruiser party. Did you guys go to that?

Very pleased with the stateroom treats and offerings and really think its a huge boost to Castaway Club benefits. We really like the new tiered program too.

Hope you enjoyed your cruise and what a great detailed report thanks for posting it!

[lornak]

Hey, grlzmom! I remember you guys from the tour!! How fun!

We weren't able to get to the CC reception as it was the same time as our Palo brunch. But I would love to hear about the new format!! How was it run? Did you enjoy it?